Baseball practice device



J1me 1954 H. R. WALDEN 2,680,022

BASEBALL PRACTICE DEVICE Filed Sept. 25, 1951 INVE'N'I'OR HENRY R. WALDEN ATTORNEY Patented June 1, 1954 UNITED STATE S PATENT OFFICE 2,680,022 BASEBALL PRACTICE DEVICE Henry R. Walden, Vancouver, British Columbia,

Cana

Application September 25, 1951, Serial No. 248,151 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-26) 1 2 My invention relates to improvements in baseball practice devices.

The objects of the invention are to provide means whereby baseball players, either amateurs or professionals, may obtain effective batting practice in small areas, such as the yard of the average home, or other confined spaces; to obtain such practice without having assistance from a pitcher, and to provide such a device that the ball can be delivered to the batter at any height above ground that he may choose to swing.

The invention contemplates the use of a captive ball, as will be more fully described in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a typical layout of the device.

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the captive ball and its suspension means.

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the freely rotatable disk.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view of the bottom stop.

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of said stop.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

The numeral l indicates a light cable which is of any convenient length, though preferably between thirty and sixty feet, which cable is secured at opposite ends to any suitable support with its lower end from three to six feet above the ground and its upper end at a height which will cause a free article to slide down said cable. Adjacent the upper end of the cable is a transversely disposed circular disk I0, preferably of rubber, which is freely rotatable upon said cable. A pair of stop collars l2 are affixed to the cable I by any approved method so as to prevent said disk from moving lengthwise of the cable. An adjustable stop 14 is slidably mounted on the cable adjacent its lower end. This stop consists of a semi-circular piece of solid rubber, which is provided with a circular passage [6 slightly greater in diameter than the cable I. The passage l6 extends obliquely downwards through the stop from the chord of the stop to a point on its circumference slightly below its horizontal axis. A narrow slit l9 extends through the stop l4 horizontally and cuts diagonally through the passage l6.

Slidable upon the cable 1 between the disk It) and the stop [4 is a relatively large ring 20 to which is attached a cord 2| having a rubber ball 22 secured at its lower end. The diameter of the ring is such that when the stop 14 is turned so that the cable is lodged in the passage 16, said ring may be slipped over the stop to permit the ball and its ring to be removed from the cable, the ring, however, is too small to pass over the stop [0. The cord 2! is preferably about two feet long, so as to dispose the ball well below that part of the cable from which it is hanging and to permit the ball to swing freely in any lateral direction when the ring 20 comes to rest against the stop M.

In use, the player turns the stop 14 in a vertical plane until its passage H5 is in line with the cable, the stop is then moved until the ball, when suspended below said stop, will be at a convenient height for the player to hit. When the stop is in the desired position, it is turned in the opposite direction, so that the cable will be clamped in the slit [9. If the player hits the ball squarely and with sufficient force, it will travel upwardly along the cable to be stopped by the disk It), indicating a hit to centre field. When hit towards left field the ball causes the cord to pass over the disk 10 at a tangent and to take several turns around the cable above said disk in a clockwise direction. The weight of the ball at the end of the free cord is such that the coiled portion of the cord continues to turn to unwrap itself from the cable, which movement is assisted by the continued free rotation of the disk in the same clockwise direction. When the ball is hit towards right field a similar action takes place but in a counter-clockwise direction.

What I claim as my invention is:

A batting practice device comprising a cable adapted to be supported at an incline between end supports, a freely rotatable disk secured against endwise movement adjacent the upper end of the cable to form an upper stop, a ring slidably mounted upon the cable, a relatively short cord having a ball at one end suspended from the ring, said cable having a stop adjacent its lower end, said stop being semi-circular in form and of a diameter to permit its passage through the ring when that portion of the stop which is normally perpendicular to the cable is disposed at a substantial angle to the plane of the ring, said stop being provided with a slit extending therethrough of lesser width than the diameter of the cable wherein the cable is normally adapted to be clamped, and a pair of opposing grooves extending diagonally through the slit which jointly with the width of the slit are of greater transverse dimension than the diameter of the cable and form a passage through which the cable may run freely..

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

